“Hence, all registered intending pilgrims, except those on HSS, were required to pay a balance of N1,918,094.87 since the N90 billion was not sufficient to make up for the balance.
“However, new registrants were asked to pay N8,454,464.74, being exempted from the Federal Government’s intervention.”
Arabi also said that it was on record that eligible officials and stakeholders from all the tiers of government enjoyed the subsidy from the money.
On the pilgrims’ Basic Travel Allowance, he said the commission, in agreement with the state pilgrims’ representatives, approved a BTA of $500 per pilgrim.
This, according to him, was part of measures put in place to reduce the cost of Hajj fare.
Arabi said: “As at April 24, 2024 when NAHCON remitted the pilgrims’ BTA into their respective States Pilgrims Welfare Boards accounts, the Dollar exchange rate was N1,252 to a dollar.
“Based on this rate, N626,000 was paid for the value of $500.
“However, the banks later issued BTA to pilgrims at a rate higher than N626,000 depending on the cost of foreign exchange at the time the respective states requested for the BTAs.
“This caused a shortfall to the original value.”
He said the commission expected that the banks were supposed to honour the exchange rate obtainable on April 24, 2014, the day the BTA was deposited and to pay the pilgrims based on that rate.
Arabi assured that going forward, NAHCON would engage the Central Bank of Nigeria to avoid future occurrence.
He added that NAHCON would continue to assess and improve its processes to better serve the pilgrims and uphold the sanctity and significance of Hajj.
He said: “Be rest assured that NAHCON remains committed to transparency and accountability in all aspects of our operations.
“We will continuously seek to improve our processes to ensure equitable access to facilities and services for all the pilgrims, thereby upholding the sanctity and inclusivity of the Hajj experience.”
